


when oblivion is calling out your name, you always take it further than i ever can

by likelightninginabottle



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Anchors, And The People Who Finally Quiet Them, Corey Is Just Along For The Ride, Getting Together, Humor, If I Loved You Less Maybe I Would Be Able to Talk About it More, Liam is Thirsty and Good at Bargaining, M/M, Mason is Here and Longsuffering, Obligatory Hospital Scene But Not Like That, Painkillers, Post-Canon, The Mystery of Where Liam's Hands Are, The Things That Prevent Us From Leaving Through The Front Doors, The Things we Feel That are Too Loud For Words, Theo is Grumpy and In Love, What We Let Ourselves Do When we Are Finally Free, shameless flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:34:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29059842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likelightninginabottle/pseuds/likelightninginabottle
Summary: Half a cleaned plate later, and: "Did it hurt," Liam says, muffled around a mouthful of mashed potatoes, "when you fell from heaven?""Liam, you literallywatchedme crawl up from Hell," Theo replies quietly, absentminded, still frowning severely, grumpy and generally disgruntled, but he gently wipes up some gravy from the corner of Liam's mouth with a napkin, and Mason wonders faintly ifhehas gone to Hell.(In which Liam is terribly high and completely smitten, Theo is allergic to emotions and totally whipped, Mason has the patience of a saint, and everybody wins, except for Stiles.)
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 38
Kudos: 292





	when oblivion is calling out your name, you always take it further than i ever can

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aunaree](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aunaree/gifts).



> because she is very kind and I like her writing (and also gifting people things)  
> I know this is unexpected, but I really hope you enjoy it :)
> 
> @ tonytones BRO literally half this idea was based on smth you reblogged on ur main that made me lose my MIND. You'll know the line when you see it
> 
> okay to be completely honest, I am not sure what this is!! it was supposed to be cute and flirty and funny but theo came in and made it kind of angsty, and then it got kind of sappy, idk guys, idk. I just wanted Liam high off his ass on painkillers being thirsty, because I feel like every good ship has one, and I am here to provide
> 
> this one's for y'all as an early v-day present :) hope you enjoy!!

Theo's patching himself up in a hospital supply-closet, like any self-respecting survivalist, when the door suddenly opens.

Melissa's eyes go to the bloody bullet casings on the ground, the Bic lighter being held to Theo's skin, the bubbling flesh on his calf, and suddenly looks very, very tired.

The bubbling noise fills the silence, and Theo waits for her to come to some kind of decision.

"Did you take those out _yourself_?" she asks, sounding exasperated.

"Uh," Theo says, bewildered, "yeah? What was I _supposed_ to do?"

" _Get proper medical attention_ ," Melissa says, brows raised, unimpressed, "like _everyone else_. Doesn't that _hurt_?"

"Do I _look_ like I'm in pain?" Theo asks, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice because he's pretty sure Melissa's not above whacking him with a slipper. He shrugs, one-shouldered, and moves the lighter to another hole in his leg, neutralizing the wolfsbane and cauterizing the bullet wound -- two birds, one stone. "It's not a big deal, I've had worse. And besides, I'm not _everyone else._ "

Her expression slides from nonplussed into longsuffering, and before Theo can even get his supernatural reflexes reengaged, he's being strong-armed into one of the examination rooms and propped up onto one of the beds while Melissa yanks his leg up, disinfecting the holes in his leg with a gentleness that's surprising, considering the severity of the frown on her face.

On the other bed is Liam, sprawled over the sheets, hooked up to an I.V., Mason slumped into the chair next to him.

"The hell happened to _him?_ " Theo can't help but ask, and Mason doesn't even seem annoyed at the question for once.

"He got shot," he replies, scrubbing a tired hand over his face. "Deaton sent a recommended painkiller dosage for the formula he's been working on with Lydia, but I think he went for upper bound instead of middle ground on this one."

A beat of silence, then another.

" . . . He okay?" Theo asks.

" _What do you care?"_ Mason snaps suddenly, so sharp that even _he_ seems taken aback by it, looking startled for a brief second, before deflating into the shitty hospital chair. "Sorry, I'm just--" he sighs, gesturing vaguely.

"Tired?" Theo offers, the corner of his mouth helplessly flickering up as Mason snorts loudly.

"Understatement," Mason says. "Fucking _exhausted."_

It's a testament to how accurate it is that Melissa doesn't even reprimand him for the language. They're all goddamn tired, and Theo just wants to go back to his truck and sleep for a whole _week._ Theo just wants some _peace_ and fucking _quiet_ , which is a stupid thing to wish for, because the universe hates him, and by the time Melissa's done wrapping up his leg, the room is _full_ of people -- not even because they're _worried_ about Liam, really, he only got shot, like, three times -- just because they, apparently, have nowhere better to hang out. Dr. Geyer is monitoring his vitals, Corey's in the chair next to Mason's, resting a head on his shoulder, Scott and Lydia are fussing with Liam's blankets, blood still congealed under Scott's eyes. Malia's in coyote-form, curled into a ball at the foot of his bed, and Stiles, Derek, and Argent are arguing about something or the other in the corner. When the fucking _Sheriff_ walks in, Parrish in tow, and joins their conversation, Theo knows it's a lost cause.

"What the _fuck,"_ he mumbles, exasperated, and Melissa -- the only one close enough to hear it over the cacophony of voices -- snorts.

She finally releases his leg with a reassuring pat, and he hops off the bed. That's when Liam wakes up.

"Oh," he rasps, eyes squinting and bleary, " _heeeey guys, 's up_?" His words are a little slurred as he stretches languidly in the bed, turning his head in Theo's direction absently, before his eyes actually _focus_ , and they make eye contact.

" _Whoa_ ," Liam breathes, and Theo frowns. Liam gives him a _very_ thorough once-over, which is, honestly, unnecessary, because Theo is fine and not even covered in that much blood. His shirt is a little destroyed, torn and bullet-ridden, and he had to slit the bottom quarter of his jeans open in order to have enough space to operate, but overall, _nothing_ that warrants the level of scrutiny Liam's exhibiting. Liam props his chin up on his hand, resting his elbow on his pillow, and grins _wide_. Theo didn't even know people _had_ that many teeth. "He- _llo_ ," Liam says, eyes hooded, leaning forward. "Who are _you?"_

"Oh _no_ ," Mason whispers, with the kind of horror reserved for truly awful things. Murdering your sister, finding out you've secretly been turning into the Beast of Gevaudan and going on killing sprees, that sort of thing. Theo doesn't know what's happening _here_ that's so bad that Mason smells like pure _dread._

"You . . . Don't remember me?" Theo settles on. It _hurts_ , more than he expected it to, to be forgotten so easily. But then again, they're not friends. They're allies, if they're even _that._

"No, _hey_ , don't be upset," Liam says, brow furrowed and worried, gently coaxing, and then he reaches out for Theo's hands, taking them in his own, and Theo _stills_. "You smell sad, don't be sad. We've never met before," Liam assures, with a persuasive kind of certainty that Theo would probably be more curious about, if his head wasn't filled with a muzzy kind of static the second Liam tangled his careful fingers with Theo's. "I'd remember a face like _that."_

Theo does _not_ know what that means, like, at all. He frowns harder, suddenly self-conscious.

"Liam, _no,"_ Mason hisses, before turning to Theo. "You should probably go."

Theo nods, numbly. Liam doesn't remember him and this isn't his pack. His usefulness has worn out, he's overstayed his welcome, his wounds are clean, leg neatly wrapped, and they're done with him. Neatly packed away and tied off, like another loose end.

He doesn't even make his way past the bed, before he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re coming back, right?” Scott asks, and Theo doesn’t know how to reply. It turns out, it doesn’t matter. Scott digs into his pocket, and shoves a couple crumpled hundreds into Theo’s hands.

It’s enough for Theo to get out of town. Enough for him to pay for gas and stay a couple nights in a shitty motel while he looks for a job.

Scott knows that, judging by the heavy look in his eyes.

“Just get some of everything,” is what Scott actually says out _loud_ , and it takes Theo way too long to realize he’s talking about _food._

“What,” Theo scoffs, “their delivery service not fast enough?”

Scott grimaces. “The Domino’s on Marigold only has one delivery guy, and I’m pretty sure he just got arrested.”

“Coach bludgeoned him half to death with a lacrosse stick,” Lydia offers brightly.

Theo sighs. “Of _course_ he did.”

The Doctors had told him to go to school, blend in, make friends with Scott, but if they had _really_ wanted him to get close to the pack, they would’ve just told him to play lacrosse. He suspects even the _Doctors_ were wary of the sheer demonic energy of Coach Finstock.

Theo tucks the cash in his front pocket, swapping its position out with the keys of his truck, which he swings around an index finger.

“Hey, _sweetheart,”_ Liam calls out, speech still slurred, vowels mashed together, and the only reason Theo turns is sheer, masochistic curiosity at who the _fuck_ Liam could be calling _sweetheart_ , but when he swivels around, Liam’s eyes are fixed on _him_ , and the sudden, unexpected eye-contact almost makes Theo _jump._ Liam’s beaming. “You got a CDL?”

Theo frowns, thrown. “A . . . Commercial drivers license? No. Why would I—?”

“You know,” Liam says, like it’s _obvious. “_ For that absolute _dump truck_ of an ass.”

The room goes dead silent.

Theo stares. Melissa stares. Stiles, Derek, and Lydia stare. Argent stares. _Dr. Geyer_ stares. Mason has his head in his hands.

Theo opens his mouth. Shuts it again, when he realizes that he can’t think of a _single_ thing to say. Turns around, and leaves the room, and makes his way to the front doors of the hospital, mind completely blank.

He hears Dr. Geyer's voice, faintly. "Was that a . . . _Compliment?"_

" _Yes,"_ Mason groans, "yes, it was."

"You know what," Stiles says, getting quieter and quieter as Theo picks up the pace, "that's on me, I don't know _why_ I thought this would be a good place for all of us to meet, nothing good _ever_ happens here, I swear to _god."_

And then the sounds of the rest of the pack making noises of agreement and _leaving_ the exam room, and Theo all but _sprints_ the rest of the way to his truck -- doesn't think he could look any of them in the eye right now.

He gets a text from Scott a couple seconds later: _yo, we're going back to mine, could you bring the food there pls?_

Theo stares at his steering wheel for a long time. He could make it down to San Diego with the money Scott gave him, and from there, he could catch a bus to the border.

His eyes flick back to the hospital.

He starts the car, pulling out of the parking lot. When he reaches the intersection, he takes the right onto Marigold instead of continuing on towards the highway.

\------

" _I,"_ Liam declares, shortly after everyone has left the hospital, "m'gonna marry that man. I jus' decided. He's single, right? Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter, even if there _is_ someone, I can just--"

" _Liam,"_ Mason tries, pressing into the vein throbbing in his forehead as Liam continues to mime some kind of horrific strangulation attempt, "don't _say_ that around everyone else! I know you're a little high right now, but he's a _murderer!"_ And then, yelps, as Corey aims a sharp kick to Mason's shin with the back of his heel. "Okay, _fine,"_ Mason relents, with a groan, "a reformed _former-_ murderer, he's better now, but _still."_

"'Kay," Liam says, unimpressed. "I literally don't know what you want me to do with that information."

Mason stares. "He _killed_ people."

"O- _kay_ ," Liam says slowly, before frowning. " _And?"_ he shrugs. "He probably looked good doing it!"

Corey presses his fingers back to Mason's forehead, right where the shooting pain starts every time Liam decides to open his mouth, and Mason smiles at him, grateful.

\------

Theo gets the pizza and goes back to the McCalls', and it's a lot less awkward than he expected it to be. They mostly just lounge around eating and absently watching the _Friends_ episode playing on the screen, pleasantly mind-numbing. He thought he would feel left out, without anyone to talk to, without anyone in his corner, but the reality is that no one gives a single fuck. The room is silent except for chewing noises and the occasional snort. Malia throws bread at the TV every time Ross does something horribly problematic. Theo feels half-asleep already, comfortable where he's curled up on the couch.

When his phone rings, at two in the morning, the noise is so sudden and startling that everyone _jumps_.

" _Sorry,"_ he mumbles, scrubbing the sleep from his eyes, before answering without even checking the caller ID. "Hello?"

" _I've got him distracted with Angry Birds right now, but it won't last long,"_ Mason says, sounding _exhausted._ Theo frowns. " _Come to the hospital."_

"Why?" he asks, before frowning _harder._ "How'd you even _get_ this number?"

 _"Extortion,"_ Mason says flatly, before promptly hanging up. Theo stares at the phone for a long time, before he finally works up the energy to get up off the warm couch, and back into his truck.

\---

"I _told_ you," Liam says, petulantly, just as Theo approaches the room, "I'll only eat if--"

He catches sight of Theo through the doorway, and the theatrical pout melts off his face, replaced by pure _elation_. Those must be some _good_ -ass stimulants being pushed into his veins right now.

" _Hi,"_ Liam says brightly _, beaming_ , "'s you again. I missed you."

Theo . . . does not know what do that. He's too focused on keeping his heartbeat steady and not going blind from the wattage of Liam's smile aimed directly at him.

Theo blinks. "Hey," he replies reluctantly, before turning to Mason, who looks like he has been through a _second_ war in the time the rest of them went back and had their pizza. Theo has seen real-life veterans with less PTSD in their eyes. "Shouldn't he be healed by now?"

"The nerve cluster the bullet went through wasn't dangerous, or anything, just painful," Mason says, shaking his head, "and Deaton's experimental formula didn't just slow down the _pain_ , it slowed down the healing too. And it's making him kind of loopy."

"I can _see_ that," Theo murmurs, approaching them and tipping Liam's face up so that he can check his pupils, which just confirm his suspicions. Liam _lets_ him, perfectly pliant as he sits there, content to just watch Theo. His pupils are _completely_ dilated, blown wide, the iris just barely visible. Theo snorts, shaking his head. "How high are you right now?" he asks.

"5' 8"," Liam replies absently, still examining Theo's face, and Theo hears Corey snicker in the corner, before abruptly being cut off by a sharp _smack._ "Green," Liam says resolutely, "definitely green."

He's _so_ out of it that Theo can't help but smile. "What's green?"

"Your eyes," Liam replies, bringing his own hand up to brush his thumb against Theo's eyelashes carefully, and Theo _freezes_ , shocked still. "Couldn't tell what color they were, before, but. They're so _green."_

" _OKAY,"_ Mason says sharply from the corner, clapping loudly, startling Theo out of his trance, and he _jerks_ away, away from Liam's hands on his face and his blown eyes. Mason still looks tired. Corey's eating potato chips, watching them with wide-eyes like they're some kind of reality show, and Theo almost scowls. "Liam needs to eat to heal, and he hasn't had a full meal all _day_. And he _refuses_ to now, because he's always been a shit, but the painkillers are turning him into a _brat._ "

"The hell does that have to do with _me_?" Theo asks, which is a fair question, in his opinion, and definitely doesn't warrant the level of pure homicidal intent in Mason's eyes.

"I wanted _you_ to feed me," Liam says cheerfully, blinking slowly, and Theo's brain has to reboot, just a little bit.

" _Me,"_ Theo echoes, disbelievingly, and Liam nods, resolute. "Why _?"_

He turns to Mason, bewildered, who, in turn, turns _back_ to Liam.

"See, what'd I tell you, he _won't--"_

"Well then, I guess I'm not eating _dinner, so--"_

"It's not _dinner_ , you _shit_ , it's, like _three_ in the morning, you _need--"_

"I don't _care_ what I _need,_ I _want--"_

"You're being such a baby right now, and you _know_ it, stop throwing a _tantrum,_ and just _\--"_

"I am _not_ , you fucking take that _back!"_

"We are _trying_ to get those painkillers out of your _system_ , Liam, do you _want_ to be _high_ for the next _week?"_

"I already _told you_ , I won't eat, unless--"

"I _told_ you who Theo _is_ , there's no _way_ he's gonna--"

" _Wait,_ " Theo interrupts, with a preemptive kind of wince. _What the fuck_ , a voice in his head pipes up, _what the fuck, what the_ ** _fuck,_** _what the fuck are you doing._ He ignores it, mostly, just like he ignored it when he _drove_ to the hospital in the first place, only about twenty-five percent certain that he wasn't walking right to his death. "He needs to eat to heal," he echoes slowly, because he's trying to rationalize it to himself, and Liam nods, nonsensically. Mason stares back with wide, disbelieving eyes. "And you're--" Theo tries, groaning internally as he turns back to Liam, who perks up instantly, "you're gonna eat? You're gonna eat the _whole_ thing if I feed you? No bitching?"

"I'll be _good_ for you," Liam promises, voice gone low, inundated with something that Theo does _not_ have the mental capacity to pick apart, because, what the _fuck._

Theo gives himself a solid thirty seconds to deliberate, before someone snorts in the corner, and Theo squares his shoulders, bracing himself.

" _Fine,"_ he concedes. "Where do I get his food?"

Mason's still gaping at him, unresponsive, so he turns to Corey instead. "Mrs. McCall," Corey offers, and Theo accepts it with a sharp nod, before turning on his heel to walk back out.

"Hey, _wait_ ," Liam calls out, grabbing Theo's wrist. "Never got your name there, sweetheart," he drawls, smiling brightly, and Theo sighs.

" _Theo_ ," he replies, irritated, before trying to tug his arm back, but Liam's not having it, grinning wider, tugging him _closer_ instead, and he's _injured_ , Theo's not about to play tug-of-war with him, so he goes -- lets himself be pulled towards Liam's bed.

"Pretty," Liam says, pleased, and then: "I bet everything about you is pretty, huh?" Theo chokes violently on his own saliva, but Liam continues, undeterred, "Theo, _what?"_

Theo doesn't reply -- can't reply, really, because his brain is still buffering, frame frozen somewhere around, _I bet everything about you is pretty._

"Raeken," Corey contributes, before popping another chip into his mouth and crunching it loudly.

Liam hums, considering, but finally lets Theo go, allowing him to walk back to the door and put a safe distance between them. "Could use some improvement," he finally decides, brows furrowed. "You should change it."

Theo turns back, bemused. "To what?"

Liam grins. " _Dunbar._ "

Theo trips on air on his way out, almost brains himself on the floor, and Corey laughs, _loud_ , clapping delightedly.

\------

"But, did you see his _arms?_ " Liam says, for the fifth time in three minutes, still looking awed.

" _Yes_ , Liam," Corey repeats dutifully, indulgently, _also_ for the fifth time in three minutes, and Mason his banging his head against the wall.

"Do you--" Liam asks quietly, before swallows. Mason can hear his throat click. "Do you think he could _bench press me_?"

"You're a _werewolf,"_ Corey replies, sounding like he's trying not to laugh. "You could bench press _him."_

Liam makes a strangled noise, and Mason bangs his head against the wall _harder_ , thanking every deity he can think of that he doesn't have a supernatural sense of smell.

" _Yeah,_ " Liam says, voice gone low and hoarse — for reasons Mason is trying _very_ hard not to think about — and eyes flared and unfocused. "Yeah, I could get behind that."

Mason picks up one of the pillows on Liam's bed, and _whips_ it into Corey's body,

" _Stop," smack_ " _enabling_ ," _smack "him."_

Corey doesn't stop laughing, and Liam's eyes are still glazed over, half-flared yellow. Mason _wishes_ it was just because of the drugs.

\---

Theo comes back with a frown on his face and a plate of hospital food on his hands, plops down on Liam's bed unceremoniously, and holds out a spoon full of soggy vegetables, which Liam accepts into his mouth obediently.

"Not a _word,_ Hewitt," Theo threatens, but Mason's so _shaken_ that he doesn't think he could string two vowels together. "I swear to _god_ , _one word_ , and I'll slit his throat with this butter knife."

The butter knife is plastic, but Mason doesn't doubt Theo's ability to use it to inflict grievous bodily injury. Probably not on Liam, though, considering the careful hand he brings up to brush Liam's hair out of his eyes, before tucking a napkin into the front of his shirt like a makeshift bib. Mason stares, and steals a potato chip from Corey, too tired and out-of-it to even mind what's happening right in front of his eyes, just enjoying the show.

Half a cleaned plate later, and: "Did it hurt," Liam says, muffled around a mouthful of mashed potatoes, "when you fell from heaven?"

"Liam, you literally _watched_ me crawl up from Hell," Theo replies quietly, absentminded, still frowning severely, grumpy and generally disgruntled, but he gently wipes up some gravy from the corner of Liam's mouth with a napkin, and Mason wonders faintly if _he_ has gone to Hell.

\---

It's four in the morning, and the Chimera of Death™ is _literally_ hand-feeding Liam grapes.

Liam sucks Theo's index finger into his mouth, looking up at him through his eyelashes, and Mason thinks, _yeah, definitely Hell._

_\---_

The food is finally done and no throats have been slit, much to Mason's pleasant surprise. Corey's asleep on his shoulder and Mason envies him for his ability to sleep through literally anything, including Liam and Theo speaking in what they _clearly_ think are whispers, but are emphatically _not_.

"I'll blow you if you help me escape," Liam promises, looking like he _means_ it, and Theo choking on his inhale, _pointedly_ not meeting his eyes.

"I'm not helping you _break out of the hospital_ , Liam, you're _injured,"_ he replies, sounding a little winded. Mason clamps his eyes shut, and tries to _force_ himself to go to sleep.

A pause of rare, blissful silence. Mason thinks he can finally rest, and then--

"Want me to blow you anyway?"

" _Liam,"_ Theo snaps, voice cracking horribly in the middle, and Mason almost _snorts._

"Oh my _god,"_ Liam whispers, awed, "are you _blushing?"_

Mason cracks an eye open to see Liam's hands pressed to both of Theo's cheeks, their bodies curled into each other, _much_ closer than he realized.

"You _are,"_ Liam says softly. "Gosh, you're so _cute."_

" _Fuck you,"_ Theo hisses, sounding embarassed, but to Liam's credit, he really _is_ blushing, pink spreading down his cheekbones and neck. "Shut _up_ , Liam, oh my _god."_

"I love the way you say my name. Say it again?"

Theo doesn't, Mason notes, move Liam's hands away. Or even move away at all, really. He just sits there, looking heavenward like he's praying for patience, while Liam presses himself harder into his body, watching the flush spill across skin, fascinated.

"Just go to _sleep,"_ Theo grumbles, and Liam purses his lips thoughtfully. " _Seriously_ , you need your rest."

"I'll only go to sleep if--"

"Oh, for _fuck's_ sake."

Mason finally decides that he needs a break, and tries to get up slowly in order to get himself a snack, and, like, some clothes that _aren't_ covered in Liam's blood, but he accidentally jostles Corey in the process.

"Hey," Corey mumbles softly, blinking his eyes open blearily and squinting into the light, wrinkling his nose, which is cute, so fucking _cute_ , he's adorable, and also, like, Mason's _world_.

"I love you," Mason blurts, abruptly, because it's only been _hours_ since they first said it, and he can't help himself, not when Corey's wide, returning smile makes his stomach do _backflips_.

"I love you too," Corey replies quietly, and Mason can't help but lean down to taste the smile on his face, which is difficult when he's smiling too, but.

They finally break apart when the mock-applause starts up from the direction of Liam's hospital bed, and Mason rolls his eyes, tangles his fingers with Corey's, and drags them out of Liam's room for a much-needed reprieve.

\---

When they finally come back, fairly disheveled but still put-together enough to be publicly decent, they both _freeze_ in the doorway.

Theo's nose flares as he _smells_ them before he actually _sees_ them. "Oh, _gross_ , guys," he groans. " _Really_? In the _hospital?"_

The bed is collapsed back down to an actual bed, instead of Liam being propped up, and somehow they've shifted to Theo being completely _underneath_ him, Liam curled up on top. Theo's shirtless, for no discernable reason, and Liam's cheek is mashed into his bare chest.

"What's," Corey says, brows inching towards his hairline as he gestures vaguely, "going on _here?"_

"Made a deal," Liam mumbles. "With c’nditions. Gonna sleep. That _is_ , if he--"

" _No,_ Liam, absolutely _not."_

Liam pouts dramatically, eyes flaring yellow, but the effect is somewhat dampened by the way he keeps pressing his face into Theo's pectoral. "I bet you have a _great_ singing voice, come _on_." He drums on Theo's chest with clawed fingers.

"Liam, _no,_ " Theo says sharply. And then, to Mason and Corey: "I took his I.V. out, so the painkillers should wear off by the morning. He’s a little more lucid now, but it’s having some really weird fucking side effects. I think the shift's trying to overcompensate."

"Wh--?" Mason splutters. "You took out the _whole thing?_ What about all the--?"

 _Pain_ , he stops himself from saying, right when Liam's starting a new line of reasoning in the argument he’s desperately trying to win, as Theo cards a hand through his hair, blunt fingernails scraping across his scalp, and Mason catches the black veins trailing from Theo's hand to the rest of his body. Liam _melts_ into the touch, but Mason has a sneaking suspicion that it has _nothing_ to do with the pain-siphoning.

 _One word,_ Theo's sharp glare says, _say one word about this, I dare you._

It's a threat that's not all that threatening, considering how Liam's arching into the touch like a _cat_ , and Theo's _obliging_ him. His veins stay black.

It's not that _threatening_ , but Mason also watched Theo almost strangle a man with a _shoelace_ so he just nods, wordlessly and sits down, mind blank, hand tangled with Corey's, who's watching the both of them with doe-eyes. _Oh my god_ , Corey mouths, and Theo catches it, narrowing his eyes into slits.

 _One word_ , Theo mouths back, _one fucking word_. Followed by some fairly violent hand gestures, promising things that Mason is one- _hundred_ percent sure violate the Geneva convention.

“C‘mon, Theo, _please?”_ Liam asks, voice small and pleading instead of flirty and taunting, and Theo frowns down at him, a little line between his brows as Liam rubs at the skin of Theo’s chest with the pad of his thumb absently, and Mason suddenly _wildly intrusive._ It’s too intimate for him to look at straight on, he feels like he has to avert his gaze.

“ _Hey_ ,” Theo says, just as quietly, brow furrowed in concern, forehead pressed to the crown of Liam’s head, “hey, what’s going on with you?”

Mason glances at Corey, bewildered, to find the exact same bemusement reflected right back at him. _We should go_ , Corey mouths at him, and Mason nods, about to step out, but--

“‘M sorry, I know—” Liam tries, still slurring his words, this time seemingly because of _the fangs_ sprouting from his gums instead of the pseudo-narcotics in his veins, not meeting Theo’s eyes as he starts picking at his fingernails nervously, but with the _claws_ , he starts to draw blood, “I know it can be a _lot,_ like, _too much—”_

“It’s _not,_ ” Theo insists, _vehement,_ and then, seemingly just for good measure, “shut up, I never said that.” It has a little bite to it, sharp, but Theo takes Liam‘s fidgeting hand in his own, tangling their fingers together. Which is an effective tactic of getting him to stop picking at the skin on his fingers, albeit not one Mason has tried before himself. Against Theo's hand, the claws retract _immediately_ , leaving blunt human fingernails in their wake.

“You don’t _have_ to—”

“You _idiot_ , like anyone could _make me—”_

“Theo, come on, I can’t ask you to—”

“Shut _up,”_ Theo finally snaps, _furious_. “Just shut the fuck _up! Christ_ , don’t you you _get it_ by now? Why won’t you _let me_ —” he spits, before letting out a sharp, frustrated noise. And then, so quiet that Mason can barely hear it: “ _I’ll take care of you._ Just _let me—”_

Liam finally turns to face Theo directly, expression staying solemn even as he brushes his fingers over Theo’s bare collarbone. He laughs, humorlessly. “It’s rotten work.” Mason doesn't notice his other hand has curled in on itself, claws buried into the meat of his palm, until he sees the slow trickle of blood dripping onto Theo's chest.

“Not to _me_ ,” Theo murmurs, his other hand coming up to press Liam’s curled-up hand against his bare skin right above his heart, to hold it there. “Not if it’s _you._ ”

He carefully pulls each fingernail out of Liam's flesh, resulting in four wet-sounding noises, before pressing Liam's claws _into_ his chest. "Put them away," he says quietly, and Liam shakes his head vigorously back and forth.

"I _can't--"_ Liam protests, voice hoarse and half-shifted.

But Theo continues, undeterred, pressing Liam's claws _harder_ into his chest, until the indents are visible in the flesh of his pectoral, until it _breaks_ skin, a drop of blood drawn, and Liam makes a low, wounded noise, makes a move to jerk his hand away, but Theo doesn't _let_ him, grabbing his wrist with his _other_ hand, and _holding_ it there. He presses _harder._

"Theo, _stop,"_ Liam begs frantically, sounding desperate, _thrashing_ to get away from him, but Theo's face stays impassive, " _stop_ it _,_ I _can't--"_

" _Yeah_ , you _can_ ," Theo insists stubbornly, unrelenting, not even _flinching_ as the second claw breaks skin, a rivulet of blood dribbling down from his palm, and Liam thrashes _harder_ , a steady, pained whine echoing throughout the room. "You _can_ , I _know_ you can, c'mon, put 'em _away."_

 _"_ Let _go,_ " Liam growls, eyes flaring brighter, fangs getting sharper. "Fucking _let go of me!"_ Blood dribbles down onto the sheets, dark and staining.

"Not a goddamn _chance,"_ Theo snaps back, his _own_ face shifted as he presses Liam's claws into his chest so _hard,_ Mason thinks they're going to go right through, shred the muscles to pieces, and Liam's hand is going to close right around his heart, before Theo's eyes flare bright and he snarls, " _Calm down!"_ so loud that Mason _swears_ the walls vibrate.

Liam roars back, retaliatory, _just_ as loud, but then they both still, limbs tangled together, panting, blood drying on Theo's chest. A brief silence, in which no one moves a muscle.

Liam’s blunt human fingernails glint underneath the hospital fluorescents.

“Sorry," Liam whispers, pressing against the sluggishly-bleeding, already visibly healing indents in his chest with shaky fingers. " _God,_ I'm--"

" _Don't_ ," Theo snaps, before deflating, and as he sags into the mattress below him, Liam moves with him, pressed against his chest, pressing his forehead to Theo's bare skin. "It's _fine."_

"It's _not._ You shouldn't always have to-- _"_

" _Liam,"_ Theo snaps, voice cracking right down the middle, sounding tired, sounding desperate _,_ sounding _raw,_ and whatever Liam hears in his voice makes him quiet.

"It’s just,” Liam finally says, shaking his head, _"s_ 'making me see things, and, just _hospitals,_ I can't—”

“I _get it_ ,” Theo assures, mouth pressed to the top of Liam’s head.

“You mean you’ll—?”

"Yeah," Theo says, sighing as he grimaces, shaking his head. "Yeah, what the _fuck_ , fine."

His eyes flick to Mason and Corey, where they're awkwardly hovering in the doorway, and he _startles_ , like he just realized they were there. It wouldn’t surprise Mason if he _did._

"Get out," Theo says flatly, and Mason nods _fervently_ , before managing to tug Corey away, shutting the door behind him.

Theo's are still black when they leave, like they were the second they entered -- like they were the _entire_ time they've been standing in the doorway -- running down his hands, his arms, constant obsidian racing through his veins, pulling, pulling, pulling.

\---

“What the _fuck?”_ Mason breathes, as soon as they’re far enough. ”Babe, what the _fuck?”_

Corey snickers and swings their arms back and forth. “You _knew_ there was something there, come on.”

“Yeah, but, like,” Mason manages, shaking his head, “I thought they were just _barely_ friends.”

“Anchors,” Corey shrugs, squeezing Mason’s hand, and Mason squeezes back instinctively, ignoring the fucking backflips his stomach his doing, because that’s just _embarrassing_ , they’ve been dating for _months_ now, and Mason still feels his heart skip a beat every time Corey smiles at him. “It was inevitable.”

\---

They make their way to one of the coffee machines nearby, and Mason resolves to give them some privacy for exactly as long as it takes for Corey to go completely still in the waiting room, eyes going wide.

“ _What,”_ Mason hisses, tugging on his hand, because he _recognizes_ that head-tilt. “ _What’s going on, what'd you hear?”_

Corey hushes him violently, and Mason lasts a grand total of five seconds before he starts tugging again.

" _What?"_ Mason whispers heatedly, more violently this time. " _Come on, tell me!"_

"He's, uh," Corey manages, before slumping back into the wall with a surprised huff. "He's _singing."_

Mason blinks. "He's _what?"_

"Yeah," Corey says, shaking his head, disbelieving, a small smile playing on his face.

"Theo _?"_

Corey hums an affirmative, and then, his grin gets _wider._ " _You Are My Sunshine,_ " he recognizes, and it shocks a laugh out of Mason, half-hysterical.

\------

"Y'r the _best,"_ Liam mumbles, almost completely asleep, and Theo can't help the snort that escapes him.

"You don't even _remember_ me," Theo replies, tone dry.

"'f course I do," Liam insists, eyes still shut, but brows furrowed in a way that Theo can _feel_ against his bare collarbone, "mister _'people only feel one emotion at a time,'"_ Liam snorts softly, slapping Theo's abdomen blindly in what Theo assumes is supposed to be a friendly pat. "Fuckin' _liar."_

It almost startles laughter out of Theo, a snicker that he has to bite back because Liam's _finally_ asleep, snuffling quietly, perfectly still, ear pressed right to Theo's heart.

It's not long before the rhythm of his slow, steady breaths lull Theo to sleep too.

\---

Theo wakes up before Liam, because of course he does. Because Theo's used to existing quietly in the spaces between the walls, secretive and surreptitious, and wakes up almost silently, and Liam's used to taking up all the fucking space in the _room_ , and wakes up with a groan so loud, Theo's pretty sure it served as a wake up call to all the patients in the entire hospital.

To be fair, though, he's got to have a _hell_ of a pseudo-hangover.

Also, there's the fact that Liam's _still_ completely on top of him, pinning him to the mattress, face buried into the crook of his neck, and _hands--_

"How's your arm?" Theo manages, around a yawn, just as Liam finally manages to crack an eye open.

Liam drags in a _deep_ inhale, and lets out a gusty sigh that Theo feels on his neck. It takes more effort than it probably should, to quell the involuntary shudder.

"S'fine," Liam says, voice still sleep-raspy. "Head's fuckin' _killing me_ , though."

Theo laughs softly. "Oh, I'll _bet."_

And _that’s_ when Liam's head whips up, startled, like he _forgot_ there was another person in the room with him -- another person in _bed_ with him.

"What--" Liam manages, mouth flapping, opening and shutting rapidly, and Theo can almost see the buffering symbol in his eyes as Liam tries to shake the sleep from his mind. "What're you _doing_ here?"

Theo can't help the way his mouth curls into a smirk, just as much as he can't help his response: "I was just asking myself the same thing."

Liam shoots him a _fantastically_ unimpressed look, which Theo thinks is fucking _bold_ , for someone who has his hands on Theo's--

"Also, it was kind of hard for me to leave through the front doors," Theo says in mock-solemnity, waiting for Liam's brows to pinch in confusion, in _concern_ , one, two, three beats of silence, before: "what with my _absolute dump truck of an ass."_

It takes Liam exactly three seconds to _register_ what Theo said, before his eyes go _wide_ , and he groans _loud_ , dropping his head back to Theo's chest, _shaking_ with the laughter that Theo can't suppress.

"Oh my _god,"_ Liam breathes, _visibly_ mortified. "I thought that was a _dream."_ His face is so _flushed_ , Theo can feel the heat of the blood rushing to it against his own skin, and _genuinely_ can't remember ever being happier than this. Which is such an _embarassing_ , sappy fucking thought he almost wants to shove Liam unceremoniously off the bed, pounding migraine at all, just to reestablish some boundaries.

He doesn't. Instead, he just lays there and lets Liam press his blushing face to Theo's bare skin and fucking _enjoys_ it, like the goddamn _loser_ he is these days.

"Did I _really_ say that?" Liam whispers quietly, and Theo can't help but smile, amused.

He hums a confirmation. "In front of the whole pack," Theo replies, biting back another laugh. "And, y'know. Mrs. McCall--"

" _Melissa?!"_

"-- _Argent, Derek Hale_ \--"

"Oh my _god_ , what the _f--"_

"-- _Dr. Geyer_ \--"

That _last_ one has Liam make such a strangled, horrified noise that the laugh finally escapes Theo's throat, bright and amused, and Liam's dramatics almost make him roll straight off the bed. That _is,_ if he didn’t have his hands _anchored_ on Theo's--

" _Dude,_ oh my _god,"_ Liam groans.

"Don't call me _dude,"_ Theo says, irritated, "when you still have your _hands_ on my ass."

Because . . . Yeah. It's not _Theo's_ fault, that's how he woke up -- Liam's face resting in the junction between his neck and his shoulder, his body nestled comfortably between Theo's sprawled legs, _both_ his hands buried in the space between Theo's jeans and his briefs, one hand on each cheek.

Liam's painkiller-addled brain, which clearly hadn't taken note of their position until _this very moment_ , finally appears to clear, as he blinks blankly at Theo for a second, and then _squeezing_ , almost _reflexively_ , before he seems to realize what he's doing and practically _squeaks._ And _then_ , he _really_ takes stock of their position -- Liam between his legs, Theo's bare chest -- and all but fucking _shrieks._

"Are you done?" Theo asks, nonplussed, and Liam takes a second to just _stare_ at him. "You're handsy when you're high."

Liam appears to take a second to himself, and then another, before finally appearing to shake himself out of it.

"Sorry, man," Liam says, and then, abruptly, "I mean, uh," Liam says, and then squints, before managing, hesitantly, ". . . _Baby?"_

Which just sets Theo off again, laughing so hard his abdominal muscles _ache._ "You _dork."_

"I'm not really _good,"_ Liam blurts, flustered, "with the whole _endearment_ thing. It's not really something I do."

 _That_ has Theo freezing, narrowing his eyes skeptically, because Liam's heart stayed steady. This is, somehow, the truth. "The whole endearment thing," Theo echoes, disbelieving.

"Yeah," Liam replies, the top of his cheeks still painted bright red, as he avoids Theo's eyes.

(He does _not_ , Theo notes, move his _hands.)_

" _It's not really something you do,"_ Theo says blankly, and Liam has the audacity to _roll his eyes_ , the fucker. "Liam," he says, and then doesn't continue.

"Yeah?"

" _Liam_ ," he repeats, with more emphasis, trying to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling, trying to--

"Yeah, sweetheart, _what?"_

Theo quirks a brow, and Liam stills.

"Huh," Liam manages, eyes flicking down before he ducks his head, sheepish. "Wow, that's-- _weird_ , I've literally _never_ used that word in my _life."_

"Sure," Theo placates indulgently.

"I'm _serious,"_ Liam shoots back, laughing. "I _swear_ , I've _never_ \--" he shakes his head, before letting out a disbelieving little huff.

There's a beat of silence, in which Theo works up the nerve to finally ask the question he's been _dreading._

"How much--" Theo manages, before wincing at himself, at how fucking _transparent_ his tone is, but it's too late now, he's already in too deep. "How much do you remember from last night?"

"Oh," Liam says, blinking up at him, before wincing. "Uh, all of it. Unfortunately. The stuff from before you took me off the painkillers is a little hazy, but."

"Ah," Theo manages faintly, before pasting on a wry smile and soldiering on. Quieter, tenative and hesitant, despite his best efforts to hide it: "Still like me now, that you're sober?"

Liam's brows _shoot_ all the way up. "Do _you_ still like _me_ , now that I'm sober?" he asks, voice an octave higher than it was before. "Because I know you did a lot," he says suddenly, "Because I was, like-- and now that I'm _not--_ it's _fine_ if you--"

"Liam," Theo says quietly, alarmed by the pace at which Liam's heart rate is increasing, and he tucks a loose lock of hair behind his ear, before moving down his neck to squeeze his shoulder. "Liam, _breathe."_

Liam drags in a ragged inhale, before looking Theo _right_ in the eyes, and squaring his shoulders.

 _Brave_ , Theo thinks absently, as he admires the way the sunlight plays off of Liam's sleep-mussed hair, _always so fucking brave._

"I said a _lot_ last night," Liam says.

"You did," Theo agrees. And then: "Did you _mean_ any of it?"

"I'm not in the _habit_ of saying things I don't _mean_ ," he replies, which is just . . .

Theo quirks an unimpressed brow, and Liam sighs. "All of it," he promises, and Theo feels something warm unfurl in his chest, trying to back a smile, only to find that he _can't_ , that it's too _persistent_ for him to hide by worrying his teeth into the skin of his inner-cheek.

"Good," Theo says, a quiet, warm-from-the-inside kind of pleased, looking back up to meet Liam's eyes again. "Me too."

"Oh," is all Liam says in response, and Theo can _feel_ Liam's _breath_ on his face, but he can't get a _read_ on him, doesn't know where they're supposed to go from here, what he's supposed to do _next_ , and all he can think to do is _nod_ nonsensically, and Liam's smiling, small and _fond_ , and Theo doesn't know what to do with _that_ , doesn't know what he's supposed to do _here_ , he's never done this before, not like _this_ , and Liam's face is so fucking _close,_ eyes sweet and warm, and Theo wants to taste the red on his mouth, wants to bite it off, and the way Liam's looking at him is _unbearable_ , it makes Theo's heart clench sweetly, _painfully_ , in his chest, beating double-time and making the words stick in his throat, though, what words he would even _say_ , he doesn't know, because he can't talk about it, the _thing_ twisting and curling inside of him, making his heart skip beats and making him drive to hijacked hospitals in the dead of night, is too loud to put into words, and Theo would just fuck it up on the way out anyways, coat it in poison, because he's not _good_ at this, not good at being gentle, not good at telling the truth, _his_ truth, that sometimes home isn't four walls, it's two eyes and a steady, sure heartbeat, and Liam's been pressed up against his bare skin for _hours_ now, but the look in Liam's eyes, like he _sees_ him, chokes him, almost --steals the breath from his lungs and the oxygen from his brain, light headed and out-of-breath -- and it almost feels _too intimate_ , being understood, and Theo thinks too much, he's thinking too much about this _now_ , because he always spends too much time in his own head, that was his problem, not good enough with _people,_ and he can't help the building urge to _do_ something, to _say_ something, to finally take his chance before the moment withers away, crumbles before his eyes, and he thinks he can _feel_ it slipping through his fingers, and his thoughts are _racing_ , racing like his sister's heart, pounding away in his chest, racing like the black in his veins for eight-hours straight as they slept, and everything's going too fast, all of a sudden, and Theo's going to be left behind, so, half-hysterical, completely, _pathetically_ desperate, he opens his mouth to say something -- something, _anything_ , even _he_ doesn't know what and--

And Liam kisses him.

Slow and painfully sweet, steady and thorough and _sure_. A little messy, a lot enthusiastic, and just off-center enough to really break Theo's heart, as he brings both his hands up to carefully cup Liam's face, fingers spasming.

Time slows down, and Theo's mind goes blissfully quiet.

And Liam kisses him and kisses him and kisses him.

\---

Later, much later.

 _Much, much, much_ later.

So much later that Theo's head feels muzzy -- and he wonders, absently as his mouth tingles, if this is what it feels like to be intoxicated -- Liam suddenly blurts, " _I need to cancel something."_

It takes them a minute to locate Liam's phone, stuck beneath the two cushions of the chair next to the bed, before Liam finally retrieves it with a triumphant noise, and then takes _great_ efforts to make sure Theo doesn't see it, keeping the phone conspicuously tilted away from him in a way Theo's _sure_ Liam thinks is surreptitious, but Theo's not about to say anything, not when he can see it's reflection perfectly well in the glass of the picture frame behind him.

He watches patiently as Liam navigates to Amazon, and then proceeds to _violently_ choke on his saliva, as he watches Liam hit _'Cancel order'_.

On a _ring._

Liam catches the noise, _whips_ around, follows Theo's line of sight, and abruptly _understands,_ turning back to Theo with his eyes narrowed threateningly.

His mouth is still beautifully swollen, hair a _mess_ , pupils dilated ( _not_ from supernatural drugs this time, thank _god)_ and it takes Theo a second to shake himself out of it.

"You told Mason you were playing _Angry Birds,_ " Theo says, blinking dumbly.

"I _lied,"_ Liam huffs.

"You--" Theo manages, blinking quickly, trying to process, " _you--"_

"Shut _up,"_ Liam says brightly, "shut up, shut up, shut _up_ , I was _very_ high, and also _very_ injured, and it seemed like a good idea at the _time."_

Theo breathes in shakily. Blinks at him some more, mind blank. "You--"

Liam kisses him again. As far as distraction tactics go, it's _incredibly_ effective, because Theo forgets about it _entirely_ as Liam licks into his mouth.

\---

Eventually, they end up wrestling for the phone, because Theo can't help his curiosity, he wants to see _what_ doped-up Liam thought _seemed like a good idea at the time_ , but Liam puts up a good fight, a mortified blush spreading down his neck that Theo wants to _lick_.

Liam's stronger but Theo's been doing this for longer. He has him pinned on his stomach, Theo sitting astride his back, as Liam grumbles, disgruntled, and Theo's about to click into it, when he's distracted by the _barrage_ of notifications.

# 

# mccall me maybe pack <3

Liam
    the hospital

####  **Today** , 4:45 am

Mase
    GrossWerewolvesBeingGross.jpg
    He finally fell asleep

Cor
    *they
    :)

####  **Today** , 7:24 am

Stiles (momma)
    that's disgusting
    i'm literally so horrified rn
    ok who had money on the 12th?

####  **Today** , 9:32 am

Scott (papa)
    I put my money on this week

LydiAH!
    I had $200 on it happening on a thursday

Stiles (momma)
    p sure banshee intuitionTM is cheating

LydiAH!
    No.

Malia Wil-E Coyote
    20 bucks on september

kitkatsune Kira
    I bet $500 for the 12th!!

Hayds
    Y'all should stop betting on people's love lives
    It's creepy
    Also I had a solid thirty on it happening during ~virgo szn~

Stiles (momma)
    shhh it is the only form of affection we know
    p sure skinwalker intuition is ALSO cheating

kitkatsune Kira
    YouShutYourWhoreMouth.gif

Malia Wil-E Coyote
    wait so who lost

Scott (papa)
    Uh
    Just Stiles I guess

Stiles (momma)
    RUDE
    :(

LydiAH!
    :)

kitkatsune Kira
    :)

Malia Wil-E Coyote
    :)

Hayds
    :)

####  **Today** , 10:44 am

Derek Hale Yeah
    I'm late but
    :)
    Also I had 4k on the hospital

okay FUCK you guys

\---

"Your friends have a gambling addiction," Theo says.

" _Mmm_ ," Liam replies unintelligibly, before finally letting the skin he's been worrying between his teeth go, mouth unlatching from Theo's neck, before he brushes his thumb across his, _pressing_ into the bruise, as if to make sure it _stays there_. "Better get used to it," Liam murmurs against his skin, "they're _your_ friends now, _too."_

And Theo can't help the _horror_ from flashing across his face, scandalized.

Liam laughs so hard that he _actually_ falls off the bed, this time, no ass-cheek to conveniently grab onto and anchor him, because he doesn't _deserve_ one, the _shit_.

Liam laughs, loud and bright, and Theo doesn’t even _try_ to bite back the helpless smile that results. He lets it spread across his face, uninhibited _._

Free.

**Author's Note:**

> wow, that was so much fun to write haha, I literally just did it in between classes and stuff but I had such a good time, I got to experiment with so much!
> 
> Credit to tonytonesphoneroo5000: the “don’t call me dude” “uh... baby?” line was appropriated from her fic [”Yearn”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21062519/chapters/50105159) which is fucking amazing and lives in my head rent free, y’all should go read it if you haven’t already.
> 
> This was supposed to be a humor thing but then that euripides quote snuck in there and so did some outsider pov and some good ol' theo raeken self-loathing so here we are
> 
> I got to try out a workskin, which was very fun!! looking forward to doing a social media fic where I can combine like 40 of them :D how'd those texts look? it was interesting messing with the html
> 
> also, do I win the award for longest run-on sentence, or WHAT? i love writing for fun, so that I can break all the rules and use all the fucking italics I want and say it's for "stylistic reasons" :D
> 
> Tell me what you liked, what you didn't!! As always, all feedback is welcomed and highly appreciated :)  
> If you want to come scream at me on tumblr, feel free to find me at [inabottlelikelightning](https://www.inabottlelikelightning.tumblr.com/)


End file.
